Ezekiel Bible Study: April 2, 2025

Okay, so tonight we are going to continue in Ezekiel 43 and 44 tonight, continue with our discussion of the Millennial Temple.

You'll remember last week we looked at the physical complex, which was quite futuristic when you remember those pictures that we put up there, the artist's rendering of what the Millennial Temple would look like.

Completely different than Solomon's Temple and completely different than what the little nation of Israel, when they talk about a third temple, completely different than the plans that they have for a third temple.

So the Millennial Temple, you remember, is much larger than Solomon's Temple. It covers a large area of space.

One thing we might have not talked about enough in the last week is the amount of space that it would take for that entire complex to be.

And it doesn't appear that it could all fit into the temple mouth where they are today.

But if you look back, and we won't take the time, but if you look back into Zechariah 14, I think it's around verse 10, it talks about how there is the topography of Jerusalem and the City of David changes a little bit.

And some speculate that that's where the temple will be, closer there into where the City of David will be.

There are some scholars, I guess. Is that the word? Archaeologists who look at that temple over there? And there are discussions on whether the temple really was on the temple mouth or closer down into the City of David, where the Gihan Springs are.

And we talked about that a little bit several weeks ago when we were there. But only God knows where it is for sure.

But it will be a much larger complex than the old temple.

Tonight we're going to look at the glory that fills the temple.

And then we're going to look at the structure that God has for service in that temple, because he spends quite a bit of time explaining what the priests in that temple will be.

There is even a division of the Levites based on some of their past behavior that we are going to see. There are some lessons in that for us as we look at that. And we're going to go back and look at the other times in the first temple, in the Tabernacle, and the Solomon's Temple, when God filled the glory. His glory filled those temples, just like we're going to read here in Ezekiel 43.

Let's start in chapter 43.

Last week, you'll remember, we did talk about the East Gate. And the glory of the Lord comes in through the East Gate, and then that gate is permanently closed. No one else can enter into it, because that's where Christ and his glory enter into it. So remember that. In a little bit, I'll put up pictures of the inner courtyard again. As we get into some of this stuff so that it'll refresh your memory about how that whole temple area is laid out. So in chapter 43, you know, again, remember that God gives Ezekiel a really detailed description of this temple. A really detailed description. And he tells Ezekiel, pay attention. Fix your mind on what you're seeing, Ezekiel. And there is a lot of just a lot of detail in here, not just about the physical dimensions and everything, but also how things will operate in that temple. So in verse 1, chapter 43, it says, afterward, he brought me to the gate, the gate that faces toward the east. And behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east. His voice was like the sound of many waters and the earth shone with his glory. So you remember that Ezekiel. He's been in these visions before. God speaks to him through those visions, and there's quite visions, quite the visions that we've talked about, that God has given him. And here we have him again in this presence of God and in the throne, if you will.

Verse 3 says, it was like the appearance of the vision which I saw, like the vision which I saw when I came to destroy the city. Remember that back in Ezekiel 8? The visions were like the vision which I saw by the river Tabor, and I fell on my face. And as God began, as we looked in Ezekiel 1, as God began to work with Ezekiel and give him the visions and tell him the things that he needed to tell the whole house of Israel, there he fell on his face, just in awe of what he was seeing. The same thing happens here as God brings him into this vision. And the glory of the Lord, verse 4, came into the temple by way of the gate which faces toward the east. The Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court, and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple. So let me pull up a picture of the inner court here. This is the, if you remember, this is kind of like the one that shows you everything about it. And the inner court, if you can see the little arrow there, the inner, the outer court is here. We have all this wall around the entire temple area, but the inner court is here where you have the entry into the, from the east gate. Then you have the temp, the altar that's right there in the middle that has seven, I think it's seven, maybe more steps up to that. In fact, I think it's like 12 feet high. I don't know how many of you had an opportunity to look at the six-minute video that someone sent about the temple. It was very well done. If you haven't had a chance to look at that, it's only six minutes long. Go back to the email that I sent to you yesterday, or if you received something from the home office website today and look at that. It's a very interesting, very good depiction of that temple. And here's the inner court, right? Here's the inner court. So people, if you remember, will come in through this north gate, and that's where the guards are. And that's what they bring their sacrifices, these four tables. And then they enter into the inner court through the north gate. They have to be ritually clean to enter in. And of course, back over here, this large building is the temple.

Way in the back is where the Most Holy Place is. This is the temple where God is dwelling. And this is the inner court that Bekil is talking about. Let me pull up a more... I don't know if I'm going to just leave it where it was for now. Yeah, let me leave it where it was before I'll leave it where it was. That way you can kind of look at that. I'll come back to that in a minute. So we're in verse four. Verse five, The Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court, and behold the glory of the Lord filled the temple. That's that area. Whoops!

I see a hand. I'll get to you. I'll get to you in a minute. Here, let me pull that back up here.

In fact, let me pull this one up instead. You can see here the red altar in the middle of the middle of that inner court. And then the temple is that large 25- they say 25-story building with the two pillars in front of it. That leads into the temple area. So the glory of the Lord filled the temple, and I heard him speaking to me from the temple while a man stood beside me.

And he said to me, Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place of the soles of my feet where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever. Now, in the Old Testament, you'll recall when we read the word forever, it doesn't mean eternity as in billions of years in the future, but it typically means as long as there's a physical heaven and a physical earth.

When the physical heaven and physical earth ceases, that's when these things cease. So when God says, Keep my holy days holy forever, Hebrew o-l-a-m, o-lam, it's as long as there is physical heaven and physical earth. So when we look at this temple complex and understand it's going to be in operation, if you will, it is the place where God dwells as long as there is a physical as long as there is physical earth.

Jesus Christ says, this is the place of my throne, the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever. So we know during the millennial time, and this is completely, complete speculation, but we do know that after the millennium, there is the second resurrection where the rest of mankind that doesn't live over and be poured in during the millennial time will be resurrected.

They too will have to learn the way of God. They too will have to learn what the people during the millennium will learn. They too will have to learn what we learn, and they too will have to make a choice to follow God or reject Him.

And so when we talk about the temple and everything we're going to talk about tonight, we're going to see that it's the whole Bible. It's the whole Bible that is going to be taught at that time. Today we don't have a temple, so we aren't doing animal sacrifices. We aren't dealing with the ritual cleanliness of coming into the temple area, but as we get into it tonight, we're going to see all those things will be taught in the millennial time.

There are lessons to be learned to all of those things, and as we go through and see what the priests are going to be teaching during that time in this temple where God dwells forever, we will have to know well what is in the Old Testament as well, because those statutes, those laws, those ritual cleanings are going to be in effect during that time because they teach lessons. The whole Bible will be taught at that time, including the understanding of Jesus Christ and that He was the sacrifice, the ultimate sacrifice, but there will still be all these other things that we learn lessons from.

So when the world just says, do away with the Old Testament, no, no, no. There is truth from one end of the Bible to the other that we need to know. So this inner temple is where God says He's going to dwell, and then going on in verse 7, He says, No more, no more shall the house of Israel defile my holy name. They nor their kings by their harlotry or with the carcasses of their kings on their high places. So as Israel understands the glory of God, as they understand, we obey everything that God says and not just pick and choose what we're going to obey.

It's the whole Bible that we live by. We will be teaching that. We will be teaching that, and they won't defile God's name anymore. Now, in the last part of verse 7 here, He talks about they no longer will be defiled by their kings, by their harlotry, or with the carcasses of their kings on their high places. Somewhere in the Old Testament, some of the kings actually would be buried next to the temple. We're going to see that a little bit more in verse 8, as if they were close to God. And that is not what it was.

Even David was buried in the city of David. He wasn't born in the temple or buried in the temple. So we're going to get into that a little bit. But I want to look at the glory of God fills this temple. It's built to His specifications. It's exactly what He wants, and that's where He is dwelling. And that will be a comfort to people, because that is where when Isaiah 2 says they will go up to the mountain of the Lord, and there He will teach them their ways, etc., etc.

That is what's going to happen. So let's take the time, because this is the third temple, and go back and look at the other times that the glory of God filled the temple. Let's go back to Solomon's temple first, on our way back to the tabernacle in the wilderness. In 2 Chronicles 7, you'll remember as Solomon became king, his father David wanted to build the house of God, but God said no to David. David did take the offerings and gather offerings so that the temple could be built, but it was Solomon who built it, and he built it to the exact specifications that God wanted.

Let's just read through the first seven verses here of 2 Chronicles 7, because it's similar to what we see the glory of Christ coming into this temple, this third temple, and filling it with them. This is where he dwells. So 2 Chronicles 7, verse 1, it says, when Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering of the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple.

The priests couldn't enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord had filled his house. When all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the Lord on the temple, they bowed their faces to the ground on the pavement, and they worshipped and praised him, saying, for he is good. His mercy endures forever. And the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the eternal. Solomon, King Solomon, offered a sacrifice of 22,000 bulls and 120,000 sheep.

I think those priests, they were pretty busy at that time. 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the people dedicated the house of God. And the priests attended to their services. The Levites, also with instruments of the music of the Lord, which King David had made to praise the Lord, saying, for his mercy endures forever, whenever David offered praise by their ministry. The priests sounded trumpet's opposite them, and all Israel stood. You can see the reverence. You can see that they recognized, look at what this is where God is.

Furthermore, Solomon consecrated the middle of the court that was in front of the house of the Lord. For there he offered burnt offerings and the fat of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar, which Solomon had made, was not able to receive the burnt offerings, great offerings, and the fat. So there was that altar in front of the temple area, just like in the third temple, right there in the middle of the temple complex, where the offerings of the people were sacrificed.

As the blood was there and they became cleansed, and they recognized the blood that needed to be shed because of their sin. So as you read through there, you know, you see this is what God did. When that temple was built in his specifications, he dwelt with his people. We see that in the third temple, and as we think of ourselves as the spiritual temple that God is building today, you know, in John 15, it says, he'll make our home his home with us when we do things according to his will. When we are building the temple, or allowing him and being led by his Holy Spirit to build the temple that he wants to build, when we're doing those things, he'll dwell in us just like he dwelt in this temple among Israel.

So let's go back and look at the tabernacle in the wilderness back in Exodus. I didn't read through all the book of Exodus before we come up to the Passover, but it's worthwhile to take some time and lure you through the book of Exodus and see what God had done as he brought Israel out of Egypt and how he brought them along in the wilderness.

One of the primary things that he had him do is build a tabernacle that he would dwell in. Twice in the book of Exodus, God gives Moses detailed instructions on how that tabernacle should be built, how the instrument should be built. You remember he gave the Holy Spirit to some of the craftsmen just so that they could do things exactly how God had said. So if we look at Exodus 40, the very last chapter of the book of Exodus, we see that the temple is completed.

It's interesting when you look at the time frame. In Exodus 40 verse 1, it says, The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, and in verse 2, On the first day of the first month. Well, last Sunday, you may have heard me say, last Sunday was the first day of the month of Abib, the sacred year of God that he says back in Exodus 12, this is the beginning of the month to you.

So one year later, on the first day of the first month, you shall set up the tabernacle of the tent of meeting.

So one year after the beginning of the year that God said in Exodus 12, this, he would have taken them through Egypt, brought them out of Egypt, brought them through the Red Sea, given them all the miracles. They've seen God's hand. They've seen God's law that's been given to them. And in that one year, they have all this prepared. Let's drop down to verse 17 and just read through some of it and see the detail here that had been done and God's glory feeling this temple as well.

The main point being, they did it exactly to the specifications that God had commanded. Just like he tells us, this is how you honor me, this is how you worship me, and if you do this, I will build my home with you. Verse 17, it came to pass in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was raised up.

So Moses raised up the tabernacle, fastened its sockets, set up its boards, put in its bars, raised up its pillars, and he spread out the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent on top of it as the Lord had commanded Moses.

He took the testimony and put it into the ark, inserted the poles through the rings of the ark, put the mercy seat on top of the ark. Now, you notice when we were looking at some of the details of the third temple, we don't have the ark in this temple. We don't have the mercy seat in this third temple.

Jesus Christ is there. He is the mercy seat. He is the ark. He is the presence in this temple, like he was back then, but we don't have these physical reminders that were here in this tabernacle and the second temple as well. In 1 21, he brought the ark into the tabernacle, hung up the veil of the covering.

We don't see that thick veil, that thick veil that separates the holy place, because that was ripped in two at the time of Jesus Christ's death, ripped in two so everyone has an opportunity to enter into the holy place like you and I do today. Hung up the veil of the covering, verse 21, and partitioned off the ark of the testimony as the Lord had commanded Moses.

He put the table in the tabernacle of meeting and on the north side of the tabernacle outside the veil. He set the bread in order as the Lord had commanded Moses. He put the lampstands. There's no lampstands in the new temple that we read about. Christ is the light that lights that. He put the lampstand in the tabernacle of meeting across from the table on the south side of the tabernacle.

He lit the lamps. Verse 26, he put the gold altar in the tabernacle. 27, he burned sweet incense on it as the Lord had commanded Moses. He hung up the screen. Verse 29, he put the altar of burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and he offered upon it the burnt offering of the green offering as God commanded. Set the labor there, and he put water there for the washing. And so, you see, all of this detail that's reported, that's repeated for us again so we can see the detail as Moses went about doing it exactly the way that God had said.

Verse 32, whenever they went into the tabernacle of meeting, and when they came near the altar, they washed, as the Lord had commanded Moses, be clean, be clean before, be clean before God. And when he raised up the court all around the tabernacle and the altar, he hung up the screen of the court, gave so minute, so Moses finished the work. It was done, right? And there's 34. Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses wasn't able to enter the tabernacle because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

And then that cloud followed him from place to place as God led them through the wilderness. So you see the magnitude of what God is doing here, and as that glory fills that temple, as we read in Ezekiel 43, it was a notable thing. It was a notable thing, and the people knew that that glory was there. So let me pause here and take a couple questions or comments. Okay, right? Hi, Kay.

Your mic isn't on.

I'm good now? You're good now, yes. Okay, sorry. I just noticed I've read this before, but it took a year from verse 2 to complete raising up the dwelling place in verse 17.

You read verse 2, it says, on the first day of the new moon.

Yeah, well that, okay, well that, well he was meaning on the, that was when he wanted it completed by. Remember the first day they were stolen in Egypt, the first day of the first month in Exodus. Right. So within that year they came out of Egypt and that tabernacle was ready to put into use. Did it take them, did it take them a year to do all this? Because 17 it says in the second year.

The first two says the first new moon and verse 17 says, and it came to be in the first new moon of the second year on the first day of the new moon. Well, you know what, I was taking that by the first of the second year, but that you may be right. I'll have to go back and look at that a little closer. It might be that it was two years, but I was taking it as the... Well, it was one year, one year from when they, when he tells them to raise it up, and then it was the second year that they actually raised it up.

Yeah, okay. I just thought it was interesting. Yep, very good. No, good, good thought. Bill.

Yes, sir. Thank you. When you read, you talked about God wanting to dwell in the temple.

It reminded me of a verse that David said, Psalm 132, verse 4 and 5.

He talks about God dwelling with him, but he says, I will not give sleep to my eyes nor slumber to my eyelids until I have found a place for the Lord, a dwelling place for the mighty God of Jacob.

So he's looking to have our minds even prepared to receive God dwelling in us by Spirit.

So that's pretty significant.

That's pretty significant. Bill. Bill Bratt, hi.

One question I have would be, will God the Father be in the Millennial Temple?

Jesus Christ is in the Millennial Temple. God the Father stays up at the throne in heaven. He comes down to earth when the new heavens and the new earth and the new temple there in Revelation 21 and 22. Right. I understand. That's what I thought. Then while you were saying it, when you were reading, I thought maybe he would be there. I'm saying God, I should be saying Jesus Christ in these verses.

Okay. Thank you.

Okay. Xavier.

Hi, even everyone. Hi, bro. Shaby. When you read this chapter, you, verse 1 through 16, he tells the instructions they are given prior to verse 17. Meaning, when he gave all instructions, these are the whole ability to be tabernacle, etc.

So he's telling in that year, when they come to that year, verse 17, it's now the second year. No, it's said it, but because you have all the articles, you have everything ready. So he's not saying it took a year for them to do it. It's saying he gave the instructions, but it must be accomplished setting up on this day.

So he gives it to them on the first day of the month, and then by the following year, they should all be done. No, no, no. Okay.

First, it's to say you shall set up in the first day and first day. Yep, he goes back there. He told them back in the spring, summer, of the year prior. Right. Meaning, at Sinai, when Moses went up and got the instructions.

Right.

On first day and first time. It took them back time.

All right. Yes. Okay.

It took them from May, a few months, January, February.

Everything was ready. No, set it up in the first month of a bib or a nisan on the first day. Right.

And that's what Moses did then when we get to chapter 17.

Yep. Okay. Very good.

Hi, Bill Bros.

I was listening to Tom Robinson's sermon again.

Uh-huh.

And when he asked the question, what was the point or why did they build the original temple? Now, maybe you already went over this, but anyway, then he went to Exodus 25, 8 through 9.

And it says, and let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them.

And that seemed to be the major reason. Yeah. Am I right to what? I mean... No, no, you're right. That was what the 12th Tabernacle was. Solomon's temple, this third temple, God says, or Jesus Christ says, I will dwell there. I'll dwell there among Israel.

And it has to be to his specifications. Has to be to his specifications in order for it to be the temple. The temple he'll dwell in. Yes. Just like we're the spiritual temple today.

Okay.

Okay. Let's go on here in chapter 43. I think we were in...

Yeah. We read through verse 7 there.

Again, the glory of the Lord. Everything was done exactly the way he said it should be. That temple, that temple, then people that came into it needed to go through the ritual cleansing in order to come into there. Remember from last week, those North Gates, they had those guards in there, and no one was going to come in.

That was unclean. So in verse 7, he talks about how they polluted the temple. That some of the times, some of the kings that are described in Samuel kings and chronicles, as the not good kings, right? They departed from God. They set up their altars. They set up all these places all over the place, including in God's temple. And he says, that's never going to be done again. His temple will not have the abominations in it. And that's what he says here in verse 8 as well. He says, when they, these kings who were not good kings, like David, Josiah, Hezekiah, when they set their threshold by my threshold, meaning they were putting themselves right by God, they were kind of invading His space, and their doorpost by my doorpost, with a wall between them and me, they defiled my holy name, by the abominations which they committed.

Therefore, I have consumed them in my anger.

So the temple has to remain clean. Has to be undefiled. That's why, even in the New Testament, we'll say that, you know, we need to become undefiled. Our goal is purity, that we are the people that God wants us to be, and we get all the defilements in our minds, our attitudes, our actions, our behaviors out, and replace them with the clean items, the unleavened items, as we enter into the time of unleavened bread.

Verse 9, let them put their harlotry and the carcasses of their kings far away from me.

Don't bury them on my land. Put them their men. Their men, they shouldn't be in God's temple. His temple is for him, for his glory. Let them put their harlotry and the carcass of their kings far away from me, and I will dwell on their midst forever. We're not going to go back there, but you'll remember in prior chapters of Ezekiel, we talked about the harlotry that God said that his people would commit against him. And he was really graphic in some of those chapters on what it was like when people departed from him after he did everything for them, and then they defiled his name and committed harlotry with all the ways of the world, the people of the world, etc., etc.

So in verse 10, as God describes this glory of the temple and says, keep it clean, he says, Son of Man, describe the temple to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities, and let them measure the pattern. That means let them pay attention, just like God asked Ezekiel, fix your mind, write down everything you see, Ezekiel. He says, Israel, he has cast them away in his anger because of the ways they have lived their lives. And he says, describe the temple to them. Yes, all the physical temple, but all the laws and rituals and everything that goes with it that have meaning for people as they're building their lives the way that God would have us do them.

Let, describe it to them that they may be ashamed of their iniquities, and let them measure the pattern. Look at how it's done. Look at what the finished product looks like. For us, it looks like Jesus Christ. It looks like Jesus Christ. That's who we become like. And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the temple and its arrangement. Make known to them its exits and its entrances, its entire design, and all its ordinances, all its forms, and all its laws. That's not just the Ten Commandments. That's everything. The operation of this temple, it's a real temple with real sacrifices, with real priests serving in that temple. You saw all the places where everyone could live. It is a functioning city, almost, of everything that's going to be going on there. And everything in this Bible, you know, is what is going to be done at that temple. Today we look at the Old Testament and say, well, that ritual cleansing was for the temple. We don't have a temple today. If we had a temple today that God had told His New Testament Church to build, we'd be living by those things. Those are the things that are going to be taught in the millennium as people come into this temple as well. So we need to understand some of those things, and we will be learning, too, as we are there in the millennium. Oh, this is the law of the temple. This is what this means. This is what God wanted to put in the minds of men back then in a physical way. Look at the spiritual applications of what they're doing as well. So He says, make known to them everything, all of its laws, write it down in their sight so that they may keep its whole design and all its ordinances and perform them.

Do it. Live that way of life and learn the lessons, the whole education that God had for mankind. And He says in verse 12 then, this, this is the law of the temple. The whole area surrounding the mountaintop is most holy. Behold, this is the law of the temple. It has to be kept clean. It can have no abominations in it, and those who enter into it must be ritually clean. So you have that North Gate.

If I can put that up there again. That North Gate over here to the right of the screen, people enter into that. And as they're coming in, they bring their sacrifices. You have the four tables that are there where the priests are going to prepare those sacrifices and check. They're the guards who, this is, this is what the people come into it. Then they go through that North Gate into the inner court where the sacrifices are performed. They need, they need to come in there because God says the entire mountaintop is clean. I want people coming in there to be doing things the way that God wants. So then down through verses 13 through 17 here, we have the measurements of the things that we talked about last week that you see in that. And I'll put the other picture up there and again. And then in verses 18 to 27, I won't read those again because we read those last week. You'll remember that even as they alter, as the temple is put into operation, the altar has to go through a cleansing and a purification process for seven days. Then we talk about all those and what exactly the offerings that God said would be given on each of those seven days. We come down to chapter 27 or verse 27 in Ezekiel 43, and it says, when these seven days are over, it shall be on the eighth day and thereafter that the priest shall offer your burnt offerings and your peace offerings on the altar, and I will accept you, says the Lord God. He accepts us. He accepts us when we repent, when we get rid of our sin, when we get rid of the filth that God sees in us, and we come before Him. Today we ask and claim Christ's sacrifice and that repentance and that forgiveness. And these offerings here will teach people, there's a physical part too, oh, you know, I have to offer a sin offering, I have to offer a peace offering, trespass offering, and these things because of what I've done. Repent, yes, but there's a physical thing. Just as we put bread, leaven products out of our homes, we don't forget the important lesson of putting that leavening out of our spiritual lives as well. So chapter 44. Chapter 44. Let me put a different temple picture up here so you have something you are looking at as we look at this. So again, the eastern gate is down there at the bottom of this screen.

By, I don't see a hand, okay. Chapter 44, he brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces toward the east, but it was shut. Remember, it's shut because of the because of the glory that came in. The Lord said to me, this gate shall be shut. It shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it because the Lord God of Israel has entered by it. Therefore, it remains shut. Only he can come in through that gate. Everyone else comes in through the north or the south gates to enter into that area. Verse 3 introduces another person here that we're not going to take the time tonight, but chapter 46 is full of scriptures about this prince that is mentioned here in verse 3. So when we get to chapter 46, which will probably be next week, we'll talk more about that prince and who is that prince. For tonight, there's Jesus Christ who comes in, and the glory comes in through that gate. It remains shut, but it says, as for the prince, this is a special person, because he is the prince, he may sit in it to eat bread before the eternal. He shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gateway and go out the same way. But rather than taking all the time, since he is prominent in chapter 46, we'll talk about him and his identity then, but we see that this is someone that's key in the temple operation.

Verse 4, Christ brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple, and I looked, and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord, and I fell on my face.

And so I'm going to read these verses again, because they set the stage for the priests, what the priests are going to be doing there. And you and I, you know, these are physical priests that are going to be there. You and I will be kings and priests in the kingdom of God, provided that we endure to the end and learn what God wants us to, and allow him to purify us so that we are ready to be born into his family, spiritually born into his family at the return of Jesus Christ. He brought me by way, and he says, Son of Man, Mark well, see with your eyes and hear with your ears all that I say to you concerning, here we go again, all the ordinances of the house of the Lord and all its laws. That's everything we read back then. Mark well, who may enter the house and all who go out from the sanctuary and say to their rebellious to the house of Israel, thus says the Lord of God, O house of Israel, let us have no more of all your abominations. Get your attitudes right. Get your your life strike. Get your, you know, let be led by the Holy Spirit. Do what God wants. Put away. Overcome all those words that we talk about during this time of entering into to Passover. When you brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to defile it. And when you offered my food, the fat and the blood, and they broke my covenant because of all your abominations, and you have not kept charge of my holy things, but you have set others to keep charge of my sanctuary for you. God says, no, it's going to be his people that that know the clean, the difference between the clean and unclean, the holy and the unholy, and that they are with reverence doing the things, the service, in that temple.

Thus says the Lord, no foreigner, uncircumcised in heart or uncircumcised in flesh, you know, that goes back to Old Testament, right? God, in New Testament, uncircumcised in heart and or uncircumcised in flesh shall enter my sanctuary, including any foreigner who is among the children of Israel. And the Levites gave you... Here's now where we get into a little segregation here of the priests. Who's going to serve in the temple? In the Old Testament, it was the Levites, right? They were the servants. They were the priests. They did all the service in the tabernacles, but in the temple. But here in verses 9 or 10 through, oh, I don't know, down through 16 or so, he sets the priesthood apart.

There's some who he says, you're just going to do the service parts of it. You're going to be preparing the sacrifices. You're going to be doing it, but you will never, he says to them, you will never enter into my holy place. But to the other order of priests, he says, you will. You'll be the one. You'll be the ones going into the holy place. And it's interesting how he segregates them here. And it's a lesson for us as we are, you know, here in our lives today in New Testament times.

So in verse 10, he says, "...and the Levites who went far from me, when Israel went astray, who strayed away from me after their idols, they shall bear their iniquity." So we have some of the Levites in times past who strayed from God. When this king strayed from God, they went along with the kings who were teaching and who were not following God the way they should.

And he says, "...when they went astray, they strayed from me after their idols, they'll bear their iniquity." Now these are people living into it, but these are physical descendants of two orders of priesthood that we'll talk about here in a minute. He says in verse 11, "...yet they shall be ministers or servants in my sanctuary, as gatekeepers of the house, and ministers of the house, they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister to them." So he says they are going to be there, they will be serving, they will be serving in the temple, but they have their role for them that's different than the other role because in the past they strayed from God.

They came back to them, but they strayed from God. They didn't stand for the truth the entire time. Verse 12, "...because they ministered to them before their idols and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity. Therefore I've raised my hand in an oath against them," says the Lord God, "...that they shall bear their iniquity, and they shall not come near me to minister to me as priest, nor come near any of my holy things, nor into the most holy place, but they shall bear their shame and their abominations, which they have committed." So God is saying, you know, they'll be there, but there were things they didn't do right in their lifetime.

They caused Israel to stray by their examples. They chose the wrong way. They came back and they have repented, but they chose the wrong way. They should have been always loyal to God, is what he's saying, but they didn't. They didn't. They'll be there, but they're set apart from this order of priests who we'll see just here in a minute that always remained true to God.

They knew who the righteous king was. They knew what the righteousness was, and they stuck with him even when that king was under attack. They knew the spirit of God, and they followed that spirit and didn't get lured away by men or opportunities or whatever it is they were. They stood for God in his way, even in the tough times when the king was wanting people to go the other way.

It's quite a lesson. We'll finish verse 14 here, which finishes what God is saying about this group of Levites and priests that we'll identify here in a moment. What he says about them is notable. They'll serve, but they won't be touching the holy things, and they won't be into the most holy place. Verse 14, nevertheless, I will make them keep charge of the temple for all its work and for all that has to be done in it.

So that's one group. Those are the ones who strayed during their lifetime and didn't remain loyal to God. Verse 15, then, he says, but, here's the other group, but the priests, the Levites, the sons of Zadok, who kept charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near me to minister to me, and they shall stand before me to offer to me the fat and the blood, says the Lord God. They shall enter my sanctuary, and they shall come near my table to minister to me, and they shall keep my charge. So this is the group that's the priests that are honored. They stayed loyal to God even when the kings and the people were going someplace else, and he specifically mentions Zadok. These are the priests, the Levites, the sons of Zadok. These are the ones who, God says, remained loyal even through the bad times and the trials of Israel. They stood for God through the entire time, and they didn't get swayed, and they didn't set a poor example for the people of Israel. I mean, to all of us who are elders and all of us who will be kings and priests, quite a lesson in here that God says, you keep your eyes on me. You do what is right in me. Don't get led astray by men, ideas, thoughts. You keep your eyes on me, and even in trials and times, you stand with God. So let's go back and look a little bit at Zadok, because he's shown here as a man to look at and see what his character was. Let's go back to 1 Kings 2. 1 Kings 2.

And...

Yeah, verse 35.

Yeah, we'll mention here... there's another verse I want to go to. As long as I'm here, Zadok is mentioned here. This is the time when Solomon is becoming king. You remember that he had other brothers. Adonijah was claiming to be king as well, but God had put his name with Solomon to be king. So in verse 35 it says, the king put B'nea, the son of Jehoiada, in his place over the army, and the king put Zadok, the priest, in the place of Abiathar. Let me go back to my notes here and make sure I'm hitting the scriptures that I want to hear. Let's look at 1 Chronicles...

No, okay, that's where I should have gone first. 1 Chronicles 24.

Because here we identify these two groups of priests that God is talking about in those verses we just looked at. Chapter 24 in verse 1 of 1 Chronicles, it says, these are the divisions of the sons of Aaron. You'll remember Aaron was the original high priest of the tribe of Levi. The sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eliezer, and Ithamar. And Nadab and Abihu tells us they died before their father and they had no children. You remember they are the ones who offered profane fire. God said, this is the only fire that you use for the sacrifices. They thought, oh well, what's the difference? Fire is fire. They learned quickly. You don't profane what God has said to do.

So they died and they had no children. Therefore, the two remaining sons, Eliezer and Ithamar, ministered as priests. So here we have Eliezer and Ithamar. Then David, with Zadok, the sons of Eliezer and the Hymalek of the sons of Ithamar divided them according to the schedule of their service. And so we say, here's Zadok. Zadok is affiliated with David and then with Solomon.

In his early years, David was Zadok's of the sons of Eliezer and the Hymalek of the sons of Ithamar divided them according to the schedule. There were more leaders found than the sons of Eliezer.

He is the one through whom Zadok came than of the sons of Ithamar, and thus they were divided. So we have these two divisions of the priesthood, the descendants of Eliezer and the descendants of Ithamar. And Zadok is this group of Eliezer. If we go over to 1 Chronicles 6, 1 Chronicles 6, and verses 4 through 8, 6. 1 Chronicles 6.

I don't... yeah, okay. This is just another genealogy, too. If you look down, you see that Eliezer... you remember Phineas from his son, and then you go down through verse 12, and you see that from the line of easy the Eliezer you have Zadok. If we... okay. Verse 38. Verse 38, thank you.

I've got notes all over the place. I was writing them down, and you can go back and do them, okay?

Verse 38 at 1 Chronicles 6. Yeah, start in number 35. Verse 35 through 38. Okay.

The son of Zoth, right in there.

It says in verse 35, these are the sons of Aaron, Eliezer his son.

You're in... are you in 1 Chronicles 6? Yes, 1 Chronicles 6. Okay. Verse 12, maybe.

Yeah, verse 12 is where it says Zadok. That was the name I was looking for, to get him from that line.

So let's... okay. So let's just see some of where Zadok shows up. Okay, I guess 2 Samuel 2... no, 2 Samuel 15.

2 Samuel 15. Verse 24.

2 Samuel 15 verse 24. Hopefully I have these written down, right? Ah, yeah, okay.

Here we have the time where Absalon is rebelling against David, right? Do you remember the treason that he committed against his father? Early on in chapter 15 it says, a verse that I always remember, he stole the hearts of the children of Israel. After David showed him mercy, after mercy, after mercy, he actually betrayed David because he wanted David's throne, and he would have really... he would have killed David if we'll get... if God would have allowed him to. So you have this treason that's going on, and down in verse 24, with David, you see in verse 22 there's David, that says, there was Zadok also. So here we have this rebellion going on. We have Absalon rebelling against David, but Zadok is with David. He remains with him. He doesn't go with the rebellious ones, and he's not part of that whole group. There was Zadok also, and all the Levites with him buried the Ark of the Covenant of God, and they set down the Ark of God, and Abiathar went up until all the people had finished crossing over from the city. And the king said to Zadok, carry the Ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the Eternal, he will bring me back, and show me both it and his dwelling place. But if he says, I have no delight in you, here I am, let him do to me as seems good to him. So you can see the attitude of David. You know what? If God wants me to do it, that's fine. If his heart is with Absalom, whatever God's will is. And he tells Zadok, do that. Go back. Get the answer. The king said to Zadok, are you not a seer? Return to the city in peace, and your two sons with you, and him he is, and Abiathar, and I will wait in the place of the wilderness until the word comes from you to inform me. And so it comes back. Of course, God is with there, but you can see Zadok continued to serve David. He knew where the Spirit of God was, and he knew where the truth of God was, and he didn't get lulled to sleep by Absalom's treachery.

Yeah, let me pause there so some of that can sink in. Bernice, you had a question or comment? Yeah, you don't have your mic turned on, Bernice.

I just wanted to let you know that if you're looking for the family line for Eliathar is 1 Chronicles 6, 4 through 8.

Okay, very good.

Yeah, so we will look at that. You can also mark down 1 Kings 1, 7 through 8. I'm looking at the time here, but let's go over to Hezekiah because we see the sons of Zadok continuing with Hezekiah as well. Let's go to 2 Chronicles 31. 2 Chronicles 31.

And verse 10, of course, Hezekiah, we know, is one of the good kings. He obeyed God. He's the one who everything. They had the Passover where God said, you know, Hezekiah has singleness of heart. He is looking to serve God. So in 2 Chronicles 31, verse 10, we find God over and over talking about these, the house of Zadok. Verse 10, it says, In Azariah the chief priest from the house of Zadok answered him and said, Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the Eternal, we have had enough to eat and have plenty of left, for the Lord has blessed his people, and what is left in this great abundance. And so, Azariah commanded them to prepare rooms in the house, and they prepared them, and they faithfully brought in offerings, the tithes, and the dedicated things. And so you have this very holy and reverent thing that's going on here, but it was the house of Zadok, still that was serving, you know, one of the righteous kings or the good kings of Israel. Throughout the old the kings, you see the house of Zadok. They're the ones who were there with the kings. On the other hand, you have the you have Ithamar of that line. And while we don't see Ithamar's line specifically, the commentaries, and I think even our UCG Bible commentary, we'll talk about this other group of priests and Levites that weren't as loyal to God. You have them straying from God's way, not doing exactly what he said. Notable among that group is Eli. You will remember Eli of Eli with his sons Hophni and Phineas. And that was when Samuel was born to Hannah during that time. You remember the story about how Samuel would go to Eli and say, turn back to God and do the things that God said. And Hophni and Phineas were just, they were just crazy. You know, if I can use that word. They were doing all sorts of things, stealing the offerings, dealing with women there. They were just polluting the house of God, even though they were Levites serving in the temple. And so you have these two groups of priests that are there. One that always was on the loyal side to David and Hezekiah, and doing the things that God said consistently down through history. And then you have the descendants of Ithamar who strayed from time to time and had some of these elements in them that weren't holy. It is a lesson to us. It is a lesson to us to follow God, to always be loyal to Him, because we know God forgives sins. Gordon, what are you touching? Don't!

Okay, sorry. So we know God forgives our sins, but it is important for us to be loyal to God always, not and to be very conscious of what we're doing and why. Because there are consequences for sin, and even here in the millennium we see in Ezekiel 44, what those consequences are for these two groups of priests. One of them, one of those lines, is going to be there, but they're going to be doing the... if we can use the term lesser, I mean just to be in the kingdom of God, even as a doorman, it says in the New Testament, is a tremendous blessing. But they do the lesser ones in the house of Zadok have the opportunity to serve the people in the higher way. They have always been loyal, and they are of that line that is loyal to God and does His work. So let's go back as I look at the team, the time, and look at some of the other things here that are in chapter 44 as we look at the duties of the priests. And again, while we won't be the physical priests in the temple, we will be kings and priests. We will need to know these things, and we will be teaching these things, and it might be that we have some opportunity to work with the people that are in this temple. Okay, this is the way you do it. This is what the law says. This is how we need to do. You and I will be getting an education because we haven't been living in a time of a physical temple as well. There are things that we should be learning now, and we will learn. We will learn a lot as that time comes. So in verse 17, if we go back to chapter 44, chapter 44 and verse 17, it says, it shall be, whenever they, the priests, enter the gates of the inner court, they shall put, and as here God tells them exactly what they're going to wear.

God never leaves anything to chance. If we need to know something, we can go back into the Bible.

Words, we're going to have to apply these principles into our lives today. The difference between us and people of Christ's time is technology, progress, and things, but it's the same human nature. As we look at the lessons that they learned, we can learn the same lessons and should learn the same lessons from them. It shall be, whenever they enter the gates, they shall put on linen garments. No wool shall come upon them while they minister within the gates of the inner court or within the house. Physical people. God says, this is what you're going to wear. When you come before me, this is how you serve me. They shall have linen turbans on their heads and linen trousers on their bodies. They shall not clothe themselves with anything that causes sweat.

Some people, some commentaries will say, oh these are all spirit beings or whatever. This is all, no, I mean look, God even has sweat. This is physical human beings, right?

They won't have anything that causes sweat. We can learn something from that too, right? We live in very hot communities. Linen trousers, linen garments, and wool causes sweats.

Any of us that have lived in Florida, we don't wear wool in the summertime in the humidity and heat of Florida, or the tropical areas if we have someone from Trinidad and Tobago on with us, or those areas down there tonight as well.

When they go to the outer court, to the outer court, to the people, they'll take off those garments. Those garments are for the inner court. So this is what you wear where you're in the inner court, right? Where the altar is, where the temple is, when you're going into that temple and the holy place. Remember in Solomon's temple, only one man, one day a year, whoever went into the most holy place where the mercy seat was, now they can go into the holy place because Jesus Christ is there.

The veil has been torn down. So there is only for the people, you know, only for those priests of the house of Zadok or the sons of Zadok. When they go to the outer court, to the outer court, to the people, they take off their garments in which they have ministered. They leave those in the holy chambers, and they put on other garments, and in their holy garments they shall not sanctify the people. So when they go out to meet the people, a different set of clothes, but they're there. They don't wear them outside of their place of service, and they dress for exactly the way that God said.

They shall neither—and then He gives even their grooming here—they shall neither shave their heads nor let their hair grow long, but they shall keep their hair well trimmed. So, you know, we see God says this is the standard. You know, this is the standard you're going to live by. In verse 21, He says, No priest shall drink wine when he enters into the inner court. We see that in the Old Testament, you know, that no priest is going to take wine when he was serving in the temple. Today we say that, you know, no minister, no minister surely would be ingesting any alcohol before Sabbath services or when he's about to teach or anything like that.

The alcohol is for another time in moderation, of course, but not when you're serving God and serving His people. That's, you know, God says, No, it's the same laws that you're going to read back in the Old Testament as well. And then He even sets the standards for the marriages that they're going to do because they're a special group of people that are serving in that temple.

They shall not take His wife, a widow, or a divorced woman, but take virgins of the descendants of the house of Israel, or notice, or widows of priests, so that we have a pure priesthood there. We have people that are living by exact laws of God, and He sees that as holy, and He says, you know, virgins of Israel or widows of priests because they have learned how to be ministers' wives, priests' wives, how to adorn themselves, how to conduct themselves, and how to keep the elements of God and the worship of Him in the way that He wants it to be according to the standards that He sets.

Not the standards of the community, as in the world around us, but the standards of what He sets. Verse 23, they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the unholy. And that's a key verse. We could almost spend, you know, half at least of a Bible study, and maybe more than that, what is the difference between the holy and the unholy?

In the New Testament, God says, don't even touch the things that are unholy. Right? Not the things of the world. Don't even touch them. Keep with the things that are holy. We are a holy people that He has called us, and people will be taught in the millennium. This is holy, but this is unholy. Don't do that. You know, holy is set apart for God. Those are the things. He sanctifies us by His truth. You know, touch and read this word. Don't rely on the internet, and if people are trying to teach you things that are different than what's in the Bible, follow the Bible. Don't follow them.

Unholy. Those are the common things. Sometimes you read in the New Testament, you know, the things that are common. Those would be the things that are unholy. Nothing wrong with some of the things that are common. We all have those as part of our lives, but we distinguish what is the difference between the holy and the unholy. And when it's holy, we do things the way and treat them the way God said to, and we recognize them as very special. You know, He says, teach them the difference between the unclean and the clean. And we may think every time we hear of clean and unclean, that it's clean and unclean meats. And that's certain lure food. That certainly is part of it. Leviticus 11, Deuteronomy 14 are full of those foods. You eat the clean foods that God designated, but you don't eat the unclean foods. That's part of obeying God and following and understanding the difference between the clean and the unclean. But there are other elements of clean and unclean as well. As you go through the Old Testament, you see what those differences are. And you see, as we've already read, there will be the ritual cleansings. If someone is unclean before they come to the temple, they have these washings. They have these processes they go through. The sacrifices that they understand, oh, I am unclean. I need to go through this process so that God can accept me. Today, that's the repentance that we go through. That's recognizing our sin, coming clean before God and asking Him to wash away the sins and cleanse our minds, cleanse our hearts, cleanse the things that we do so that we are acceptable to Him. At the time of the physical temple in the Old Testament, in the millennial temple, that will be part of their life as well. Repentance before God, that's what He desires, but also the physical rituals that will teach. It's tremendous lessons as well. I'm going to give you just a couple verses. I have that written down here in my notes. Exodus 3.5 and Leviticus 10.10 will add understanding to clean and unclean, and Exodus 31 and verse 14 as well. But we know we've heard of some of these ritual cleansings. Recently, with what's going on over in the little nation of Israel in the Middle East, we talked about the Red Heifer ceremony. Some say that that Red Heifer could be sacrificed as soon as this Passover. Whether it happens or not, only God knows, and whatever. But that whole Red Heifer ceremony is for the purification of the priests.

They can't purify and commit a priesthood over there in ancient Israel, because they have to have a priesthood that's purified. It has to be through those ashes of the Red Heifer.

They have a priesthood, and they can't start building the temple and offering sacrifices.

There can be an education. As you watch what the Jews who do not believe that Jesus Christ has come yet, or the Messiah has come yet, what they do is a lesson in some of the cleansing rituals that the Bible talks about. That will be going on in the millennial time as well. Go back to Numbers 19 and see that whole Red Heifer ceremony and what God says about it. In Numbers 19, he'll talk about, even if you come across the dead, there is a period of cleansing. If you come across a dead person or text a dead person or a dead animal or things like that, because when you touch death, you need to be cleansed before God. We're going to read that a little bit here.

You look at the time. We'll go through a couple more verses here, then we'll stop, and we'll pick it up next week. The old discern between the unclean and the clean we read in verse 23 and 24. They'll be judges. They're going to need to know what the Bible is.

In Deuteronomy 17, God told the kings of Israel, I want you to write down the book of the law. I want you to write it down, and so it'll be your guide. You're using your hand and putting it in your mind so you can judge righteously. You can't judge righteously if you don't know the whole word of God. In controversy, they shall stand as judges. They shall judge according to my judgments. They shall keep my laws and my statutes in all my appointed meetings, and they shall hallow my Sabbaths. Sabbaths will be done and kept in exactly the way that God wants them to do. And then in verse 25, they shall not defile themselves by coming near a dead person, only for father or mother, son or daughter, brother or unmarried sister may they defile themselves. And after they are cleansed, they shall count seven days.

And on the day that he goes to the sanctuary to minister, he must offer his sin offering in the inner court, says the Lord God. So let's stop there, because don't we get into the inheritance? And in chapter 45, we're going to be seeing some of that. This prince comes back into play in chapter 46. But let's stop there, because I think there's a lot. If you even go back and look at some of the things that we've read tonight and just kind of digest some of the detail that God has put in these chapters, because these are lessons for us. These are things that we need to be thinking about, because these are instructions. If he's telling Ezekiel, write this down for the whole house of Israel. You and I, you and I, this is part of our lives going forward to understand these things, how they fit together, what God wants us to do, and to be doing the things of God even in our lifetimes as we distinguish between the holy and unholy, the clean and unclean, and making sure that we are always following God and not letting man, internet, brother, sister, mom, dad, or anyone even that we may highly respect in the church, lead us astray, keep your eyes on God, and like the house of Zadok, always be serving. Always be serving where you see God's Spirit working and God's Spirit serving his people. Hey, Mr. Shaby. Let me finish it there, and then, yeah, Barry, go ahead.

When you're talking about the Red Heifer back in chapter 43, I had shared my speculation that, you know, in verse 18 it says, and he said to me, he, you know, that's God speaking to me, Ezekiel, and that, and this, the rest of it, it sounds like when he says you, he's talking to Ezekiel. Right. But notice what it says, you know, getting back to the Red Heifer. It says in verse 19, it says in verse 18, on the day the altar is made for sacrificing for bird offerings and for sprinkling of blood on it, it says, you, meaning Ezekiel, shall give a young bull for a sin offering to the priests, the Levites, who are of the seed of Zadok, who approached me, you shall take some of the, some of this blood. Now, you notice it was a young bull. It was not a Red Heifer. And I'm thinking, and Red Heifer is not mentioned in these last eight chapters of Ezekiel. Right. And they burn it in the pointed place of the temple outside of the sanctuary, and you shall offer a kid offering. And they shall cleanse the altar. It's like, you know, my speculation, I mentioned to you, it sounds like God, you know, with everything Ezekiel has been put through in the book of Ezekiel, God is showing him, I think, in this vision that he's going to be in charge of the temple. He's going to be in charge of the priesthood. I agree with you. I think that's why God said, mark it down well. Pay, fix your mind on this Ezekiel. This is, this is going to be your job.

Right. He's going to, he's going to be doing that. Yeah. Yeah. And I thought it was interesting that it doesn't mention a red heifer. Heifer is a female. This, it mentions a bull. They take the blood of the bull for the cleansing the priesthood. Let me address that red heifer thing a little bit, right? Because this red heifer thing that's going on in Israel over there today, you know, they talk about the blood of one red heifer. I'm going to have to look that up. But it's just a little bit of that, that they can serve so many million people, that that red heifer, what's going on today, as they, as they sacrifice, as those ashes are there, perhaps it's not mentioned in Ezekiel, because there will be enough ashes from the red heifer that sacrifice today that will be able to purify that priesthood going forward as well. Because the, the, what they say could come out of one, out of one red heifer is astounding. That's why there had, there have been so few in the history of Israel. So I'm gonna, I'm gonna mark that down and look that up, because when I read how many people could be cleansed from that one, one heifer, it was an amazing number. So maybe that's, maybe that's something that'll flow over into the new tests or the millennial times. Just, and that is 100% speculation. So, and it's just so, it's so amazing. We're reading through these last eight chapters of Ezekiel and it's millennial, you know, and it just gets keep, keeps getting more and more miraculous as we get to the end of it. We're looking into the kingdom of God, and you know, in real time, this is what it's going to be like. You know, I agree with you, and Ezekiel was seeing it in real time, right? I'm using it in vision. He would have all the pictures, and we've got the picture of it written here in us. So what we're going to be doing, what we even have the artists rendering today of what that temple looks like. If, you know, if those artists renderings do it justice at all. So, yeah, it's exciting. Yep, it is. Very good. Anyone else? Ah, savior. Yes. Brothers Shaby, your thoughts on John 13 verse 17, where our Lord says, what I'm doing to you, you do not understand now, but you try to understand after these things. And then when you come to, what's that, Exodus 30? Exist 30? Yeah, verse 20, where it says, when you go into the tabernacle of congregation, they shall wash with water so that they do not die.

And then you have Peter, later on, saying that we're a royal priesthood.

Is there, do you see a relationship here? No, where were you, Exodus or Ezekiel? Yeah, Exodus. I went from John to Exodus 30. Okay, Exodus 30 verse 20. Yeah. When they go into the tabernacle meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn an offering made by fire the Lord, they shall wash with water, lest they die. Well, you know, yeah, in John 13, 17, foot washing ceremony, if you know these things, bless are you if you do them. Yeah, there is. I hadn't really focused on that before, but there's that washing, right? There's that washing that's part of it. Yeah. If you don't wash, you have no part with it. Exactly. No, not nothing. You're a dead person. Yep, they shall wash their hands and feet, lest they die. Yeah, no, very good. It all ties together when you see these things. God uses the same things, but there's this, yeah, yeah, very good. Good analogy is something to think about as we head toward Passover and do that foot washing. So, and of course, the humility and everything else that it means as well. Very good. Yeah, Bill. Got two questions for you. One, tonight you've read several places here about the Holy Place. Verse 13 was one of them, but anyway, my question is, is there a Holy of Holies in the Millennial Temple? Holy of Holies, the most holy place. Yeah, the Holy of Holies. That was the place that the priest went in just one time a year, one day, one time a year. There's still a Holy Place, but apparently you can go in there more than one time a year because that veil is no longer there separating it from the rest.

And there is no Ark of the Covenant there, and it does say those priests, right? Those priests of the house of Zadok, they can go into that most holy place. So it's not just the chief, just, yeah, it's just not the high priest. In fact, there's no high priest. Jesus Christ is the high priest in the Millennial Temple. So, right. But in the Temple itself, you know, you had the you had the Holy Place, but you also had the Holy of Holies. Yeah, the Holy of Holies. You're talking about where the Ark of the Covenant was. Is that what you're talking about? Yeah, yeah, there isn't there isn't the Ark of the Covenant, so there's not that one place that just once a year the high priest can go into. And there is, you don't see a high priest designated in the Millennial Temple either because Jesus Christ is the high priest. Right, right. Okay, second question. Several places we've been reading tonight and I mentioned about the House of Israel. What's your interpretation there? Who is, who would be the House of Israel? It didn't say House of Judah, you didn't say the House of Israel. House of Israel would be all the House of Israel, right? We've talked about how when Ezekiel, when God was giving Ezekiel these prophecies, the House of Israel had already gone into captivity. They were already scattered. So he's talking, he's really talking to us today, right? Because we are the House of Israel today where God has, he has identified Israel, and so these prophecies are for us today because they were already in captivity at the time Ezekiel was writing these things. Now you say for us today, are you referring to the United States and British? Yes. Or are you just talking about... Yeah, I mean, when you, that's what you're talking about. You agreed. If you haven't, you know, read the United States and Britain in prophecy, you should, you should read that because that identifies and takes from the Bible and also history and shows where those nations are today and ties it to the prophecies back in Genesis 49 of where, where the House of Israel is today, where God, where God's physical people are today.

Right. I read that years ago. But anyway, would the House of Judah, would they be part of the House of Israel now? Now the House of Israel would, and you know, God says in Ezekiel 3070, he's going to combine both of those together, right? So House of, when he says the whole House of Israel, that would include the House of Judah as well. Today, the little nation of Israel over there is part of the House of Judah. That's not all the Jews in the world, but that's part of it.

Right. All right. Thank you.

Hey, Tim.

Hi. I got finished reading a shepherd looks at the 23rd Psalm, Philip Keller. Do they, does the church had ministers read that?

They have ministers read that?

Yes. I've read it. It's an outstanding book when we had our last ministerial conference just about a couple months ago. I talked about that and that ministers should read that book because you get a real good view into what a shepherd is and how that analogy fits to the job that we have. So, yeah, it's an excellent book.

Evelyn, are you done, Tim?

Yes, sir. Okay. Hey, Evelyn.

I couldn't help but notice as we were reading through on the book that we had, on our Passover's lessons, when the Passover was instituted, they were told to eat it with their sandals on and their belt, and it really made me think that we needed to go over the whole armor of God in Ephesians.

To be ready.

What do you think? To be ready, to be ready, always ready, to go when God calls, yes.

Yeah. Yeah. That was what he was telling me. When I say go, go.

And we should always be ready when God calls, we just go. Yes. A very good analogy. Excellent.

James Chapman, how are you?

You need to turn your mic on, but, Jim.

Gotcha. Okay. Yeah, I'm doing fine. Thank you.

I just wanted to get you to hear me all right.

Yes, we can hear you. Okay. I just wanted to give them a side of interesting articles. Someone sent me today.

There was an ingredient reader at one of the major grocery chains here in Orlando, and she discovered that most of the bread that sold, not just this particular one, but most stores, she's saying, there's one ingredient, I think she said it was called diglycerides, and there was another one. I'm not sure I don't remember where it was, but the diglycerides can be sourced from either plant or animal.

And what she has discovered, I'm going to research it some more, is that mainly it's animal, and the animal is pork.

So, therefore, we're eating bread with pork meat.

Nine out of ten of the loaves had that ingredient in it. I thought, wow, she said, it smells like a lawsuit to me. I'd say, I'm surprised the Jews haven't talked about that. You think that would be something they would... and even the Muslims, right? They don't eat pork if I remember right, so that would be a whole bunch of people saying what's going on.

You can get some comments by some Muslims about it.

You might want to become really good ingredient readers.

And understand what those words mean.

What was the name of that ingredient?

I think she said diglycerides was the one, but there were two.

But I believe that's what it was. And they're either plant or animal. Yeah. Yeah, if you find something on that, just kind of keep us abreast of that.

That's interesting how things sneak into our foods we don't even suspect.

Thank you.

Okay, anything else? Anyone?

Yeah. Reggie. Oh, hey, Reggie. I was going to talk about the 12 tribes, you know, talking about the 12 tribes coming back to Jerusalem.

Those that are converted. That would include all the tribe, including, you know, Ephraim and Manathar, which are Jesus.

Did you say, are they or they are? And I don't know.

Anyway, when the temple is being built, it's not completed right away.

And so still, the red heifers could be sacrificed before the temple is completed. Is that right?

Yes, yes. Yeah, the priesthood will have to be cleansed. Yeah, I mean, whether there's another red heifer during that time or the ashes from whatever the Jews may do between now and then, you know, we don't know. So yeah.

Yeah, but they will go through that cleansing in Numbers 19.

Okay, let me see. We've got...

Go ahead. The priesthood themselves, that would be from the line of Aaron and Levi, right?

The priesthood is from Levi, yeah. So you've got basically the Zadok and Ithamar lines, yes.

You sent it from Aaron, so. Right.

Yeah.

That's all I had. Okay, okay. Hey, Bud Bailey, how are you doing?

We've been talking about the Malinago temple. I'll tell you the hand down right there.

Priestly duties.

Uh-huh. The what's in the temple, the crutiments and everything.

And, you know, wasn't that long ago I had an accident and it erased a lot of my memory. I mean, I went beyond this question. In the world tomorrow, I see us as kings and priests, and I see the priests mainly in Jerusalem with the temple.

I see the kings all over the world, priestly kings serving the people and bringing the people along. Am I wrong?

I know I think you're right. Only God knows how he's going to do that. He does say kings and priests, whether that means we're all kings and priests, like Jesus Christ is king and a priest, or kings and priests, wherever he decides to be, you know, we don't know for sure he does, though. So, but we will be very knowledgeable of both ends, both of those, both of those responsibilities.

So we have ladies in the church that have God's Spirit, and they're, as far as we know, they're going to be qualified in the world tomorrow, and they have not served as priests during this physical life. So I would think that there's a good possibility that a lot of the areas we've come out of, we learn how to relate with the people, the people we've been involved with, who best can serve those people than the one that came out of that area.

You mean like Africa or Asia or Africa? Yeah, yeah, I think that's what you mean. Yes, I agree. So, okay.

Okay, I'll get to you in a minute, Bill. How about Jim Peterson?

I built a scale model of the tabernacle in the wilderness, I think in the early 80s summer, and it hauled it around a little bit from a couple of churches and requests.

But I was told that, oh, it was completely useless because it was 3,000 years old and meant nothing to us. So I just like to kind of, I wrote this down because my memory is getting a little choppy.

This is what I got out of that experience because it was valuable, just like what we're going through now is so valuable. Behind every idol stands a demon, and those who worship there are thus affected by the prince of the power of the air. We read about that in Corinthians and places, right? But God desired to dwell with his people. That was his desire. And so he took Abraham and he set it all up, and he came to dwell with his people so he could show the world his glory through them. And effectively, he acquired a place, first of all, tabernacle, and then a temple.

But then he was rejected of his own. And so he came in the flesh, and he overcame the prince of the power of the air, and purchased us with his blood, and became sin, or became a leavened loaf on our behalf, and now dwells in a new temporary dwelling place, which is the body of Christ, the church, who serves the heavenly Jerusalem. And we're on our way in a new wilderness, to a new promised land, and a new temple. So it was a teaching tool to me, just like all this is a teaching tool to everybody. If you learned all that from that, then it was absolutely a worthwhile project. That is awesome. Very good. Very good. Bill, Bill Bratt. And then Sue.

I know Sue's hand was up before. The other day I was going through your Bible study on lessons four and five of Ezekiel, and one of the prophecies was about weighing hair. The question is, hair doesn't weigh anything. It doesn't weigh anything. Yeah, I know that's one of the things.

We could talk about that. We had to go back through that thing again. What God was showing was a principle there of how to take this and then scatter some of it out and the remnant there.

Talked about Absalon and they weighed his hair or something like that. That's true. We all read that. I actually hadn't thought about what the significance of the weight of hair would be, but a very insignificant right to me in the scope of things. Good question, though.

Thank you. Okay, hey, Sue, how are you doing? I'm good. This was just a comment regarding Zadok that you mentioned earlier. Yes. I had in my notes that during Queen Elizabeth's coronation that the Archbishop of Canterbury actually mentioned it. His quote is, as Solomon was anointed by Zadok the priest, though be thou anointed, lest and consecrated as queen, over the people thy God hath given thee to govern. So I just thought it was interesting that it's come all the way down to our generation that he still mentioned. That is interesting. That is interesting. Very good. That is interesting. Okay, very good. Bud, is your hand up again? Again. Okay. Excellent Bible study tonight. Well researched, and you really did a good job on that.

And I want to also commend you on the Beyond Today presentation, which should Christians observe? Christ Passover, not Easter. It's had 9.8 thousand views so far.

And I think that is an excellent way to get to the world with the gospel message that you're putting out. The downside is, eventually, we're going to be persecuted because we refer to the Roman Catholic Church, and what they under the direction of Satan the devil has done to the traditional Christian churches. So eventually, that's going to catch up with us, but you are tooling God's hand, as far as we can say, being led by spirit and telling us what you're telling us. You know, the Catholic Church is going to have to be identified because they have led so much away from the Bible, and so many religions have followed them, and they're going to be a factor in the time ahead, right? They're going to be a factor there, too. So yeah, we have to do it. We have to do it.

Evelyn, go ahead. I was just going to... Sue mentioned it was a part of Queen Elizabeth's coronation. It was also part of King Charles's. Was it? Okay, so they mentioned it on him, too. They actually sang a song about Zadok. Really? Yeah. That is so interesting. Yeah, so I mean, they kind of wanted to deny that they're part of Israel, but yet they have these things that pass down through the ages that show, you know, show who they are, really. So very good. Xavier?

Yeah, I just found the same thing the sister mentioned. Zadok the priest, written by a guest who wrote the same gentleman that some believe was inspired to write the Messiah, Handel. Oh, Handel? Okay. And one of the anthems for the British is one of the anthems, Al Zadok the priest. Okay. So I'll remember who Zadok is. I had seen Zadok, but before going through this, I didn't really ever put together who Zadok was and why God thought so highly of him to have his name throughout here. So we remember and use him as a whatever kind of like someone we emulate as well to remain true to God. So, Bill. Bill, one more? One more? Or is your hand just up from before Bill Bratt?

Well, my hand wasn't up, but I guess it is. But anyway, here's a question for you. Have you ever thought about maybe contacting Donald Trump and maybe conferring him with him? Yeah, I know. He's a religious advisor as a woman, and I don't think she knows what you're talking about, but it's crossed my mind a few times. Yeah, it's crossed my mind a few times just to write a letter, right, when he'll talk about things. But it would just get buried with everything. One of these days, if God inspires, it'll happen, or however, whatever, if it ever happens. So what's interesting, though, is Elon Musk, right? Elon Musk, who just a few years ago was just kind of like anti-Christian the whole nine yards, and to see him progressing along.

And as you hear him talk, he's really interested in some of these things now that he didn't used to be before, is what I understand. So, you know, I think Donald Trump had changed him, those assassination attempts. But Elon, too, it's just, you know, as you read things about him, it's just interesting to watch him become interested in what the Bible has to say. I'd like to encourage you to write that letter. I'm going to write it, too. Yep. Okay. Thank you. Okay, very good. Okay, it's why don't we say good night? Well, let's go ahead and plan to have a Bible study next week. I was thinking about maybe not since Passover is two nights. Would everyone like to have a Bible study next week or take a week off? Is it? Okay, okay. We'll do a Bible study next week as well. We'll pick it up here where we left off in 44 and progress on. Okay? Thank you. Okay, good night. Thank you. Bye, thanks for showing me.